old county courthouse

Chadwick Boseman, the star of the movie “Marshall” that has ties to the Old County Courthouse in Batavia, died on Friday from colon cancer at the age of 43.

In the movie, Boseman portrayed future Supreme Court Justice Thurgood Marshall as a young attorney for the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People. The film centered upon a pivotal case early in his career, the State of Connecticut v. Joseph Spell.

Boseman earned industry fame in 2018 as the star of the groundbreaking film “Black Panther” and, prior to starring in “Marshall," he had the leading roles in box office releases about Jackie Robinson (“42”) and James Brown (“Get On Up”).

He had been battling colon cancer since 2016.

From May 23 through July 1 of that year, the cast and crew of “Marshall” -- which also included actress Kate Hudson -- rolled into Western New York, shooting scenes at various locations.

Some of the scenes were filmed on June 1, inside and on the steps of the Old County Courthouse at the intersection of routes 5 and 63 in Downtown Batavia.

Previously: 'Marshall' film that featured Old County Courthouse to open in theaters on Oct. 13

Previously: For a day, Old Courthouse transported to 1940s Oklahoma for filming of 'Marshall'

Now that the cupola atop the Old County Courthouse can be lit in any color in the spectrum, County Manager Jay Gsell is proposing the County Legislature adopt a policy on how and when it can be lit for special causes and occasions.

"What we're trying to do is establish a fairly general policy so it doesn't all the sudden become a free for all," Gsell told members of the Public Service Committee during Monday's meeting.

The policy would reserve county, state, and national holidays as well as days designated for "long-established causes" that county is associated with, such as domestic violence awareness, breast cancer awareness, and STOP DWI.

Otherwise, other groups can submit a written request, using a newly created county form, to request to light the cupola in appropriate colors for the specified event or cause.

Whether to grant the request will be at the discretion of the county manager or his designee.

The lighting for the cupola, which is controlled by a computer on the third floor of the courthouse, was donated by Batavia-based Lighting Design Innovations earlier this year.

It was lit -- in red, white, and blue -- for the first time in May.

The committee recommended approval of the resolution by the full Legislature.